Shepherd's Pie
by Calumniator
Summary: "Next time," he vowed to his empty table. "I'll ask her out, I swear I will." Neville/Hannah


After a little confusion, I finally have this posted! It was written for the QLFC for the Falcons; I had to write about a romantic relationship in Neville's life. The prompts were infectious, riddle, and dance. I used some of my teammaters' stories in this, too; Validity by trollnexus was very subtly referenced, along with Rectifying Mistakes by erm31323 and Luminescent by LuxaLucifer. UuU

* * *

"Shepherd's pie?"

Neville accidentally knocked over his glass as the pretty blonde approached, wishing he wasn't so clumsy. He'd killed a snake and spent years rounding up Death Eater after Death Eater, and here he was, still knocking over glasses. It seemed to be his fate.

"Why do you always ask me if I want shepherd's pie?" he asked, after he'd wiped up his mess.

"Because it's always what you order."

"Do you remember the ordering habits of every man who come to the Leaky?" asked Neville, surprised at himself for even thinking of the reply.

She raised her eyebrows. "Only the ones I've known since I was eleven."

Neville laughed. Awkwardly.

"Don't try to act all cool with me," she said, grinning. "I like you just the way you are."

It took a minute, but when he finally replied, he said, "I'd like shepherd's pie."

* * *

He was waiting for her the next time.

You gave me some really good advice," he said, before she could ask him for his order. "Thank you."

"About being an Auror?" she replied, leaning an elbow down on the table as she twirled her wand in her hand. "So what did you decide?"

"It's not the right job for me," he admitted. "But everything's working out for me. Professor Sprout is retiring, and I was offered the position."

"Are you going to take it?"

"Of course!" he said, surprised she would even ask.

"Good," she said. "I was worried you might do something foolish and turn it down. You were meant to do something with plants."

"What a surprise you thought I'd do something foolish," he grumbled, his heart sinking. He began dismantling any hopes of asking her out.

"Not for the reason you think," she said. "I meant because you're a Gryffindor. You're brave, but you're also foolish. Killing that snake was brave, but also foolish."

"Is that good?"

"For you?" she said, leaning in close enough that Neville could smell her shampoo, warm and earthy. "That's excellent."

As she turned to walk about, she added something to her statement.

"Never forget, Neville," she said, showing a toothy grin. "You have one thing that Tom Riddle never did."

"And what's that?" he asked, with surprising efficiency considering his state of shock.

"He was never just _offered_ a position at Hogwarts," she said, conjuring a glass out of thin air to drink from. "He had to beg for it. And he still didn't get it."

Strangely, that thought cheered Neville up for the rest of the day.

* * *

"Do you remember the first time we met here?"

Neville, who was halfway through a pie, stared at Hannah with confused eyes.

"I wasn't even working here then," she said, tapping a finger on the old wood table. "I was just here to get a drink. I've always loved this place."

"I do remember," he said as he swallowed a huge bit of pie. "It was busy, so I sat with you. I was so embarrassed at first."

"Do you remember what we talked about?"

"Um," he said. "Not really."

"Luna," she replied, smiling. "We talked about Luna, and the time you went to help her pick through her house's rubble."

"Yeah," he said, heart beginning to thud for some unknown reason. "I told you I thought her cheer was infectious."

"I was really jealous," said Hannah quietly. "I thought you had something going on between you two. And then she met that Scamander guy, and suddenly I felt really silly. So sorry."

"You were...jealous? Why?"

She shook her head, blond tresses flying out of her ponytail to swish back and forth.

"If you don't get it now, you'll never get it."

She whisked his pie away from his, even though he was only half done. She walked away, whistling a tune he didn't recognize.

He stared after her, his mouth forming an 'o' as he got it.

"Next time," he vowed to his empty table. "I'll ask her out, I swear I will."

* * *

"Shepherd's pie, please."

It was dark outside, smog polluting the air and preventing one from seeing the night sky. There was never smog at Hogwarts. Then again, no one would ever compare London with Hogwarts.

"You're too late," came the reply from the bar, where Hannah was cleaning beer mugs. "We ran out hours ago."

The Leaky was empty save for him, the hustle and bustle of the Diagon Alley long over. He shot a tired smile at her.

"Sorry, I should have known better," he said. "It's just...today was..."

"I know, Neville," she interjected. "It's September first. Your first day of teaching. How did it go?"

"I only had two classes, and Sprout was there, but it was still really stressful. I think I was a good teacher, but who knows what the students are saying behind my back? Deciding to become a teacher was a terrible idea."

"No it wasn't," stated Hannah, putting down a mug in favor of flicking her wand at the radio before sidling up to him. It began playing a corny Muggle slow dance. Neville liked it.

"You weren't there," said Neville. "You don't know how I did."

"Stop whining," she said. "Dance with me."

Neville stared at her. Those two things didn't seem related.

"Okay," he replied, getting out of his chair without knocking it over. He did that most of the time these days, but it was still hard to get used to.

When he placed his hand in hers, it occurred to him that he didn't need to work up the courage to ask her out after all.


End file.
